Sofa bed



July 14, 1925.

1,545,883 R. COOPERSMITH SOFA BED Filed April 1'7, MQ 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 R. COOPERSMITH July 14,. 1925.

SOFA BED Patented July 14, 19225.

UNITED STATES 1,545,883 PATENT oFFlcE.

RUDOLPH COOPERSMITH, OF ST. LOUIS, MISSOURI.

SOFA BED.

application mea April 1?,"1924. serial No. 707,076.

To ald whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, RUDOLPH COOPER- SMITH, a citizen of the United States, and a resident ofthe cityof St. Louis, in the State of Missouri, have invented a new and useful Improvement in Sofa Beds, of which the following is a specification.

This invention relates to sofa-beds of the couch type.

It has for its principal object to produce a strong and durable ight-weightsofa-bed of simple and compact construction which is easily operated and will not accidentally close when opened as a. bed. Another obj ect is to provide ample and easily accessible stowage space for bed accessories, such as bed clothing and pillows.

The invention consists in the parts and in the combinations and arrangements .of

parts hereinafter described and'claimed.-

In the accompanying drawing, whlch forms part of this specification and wherein like symbols refer to like parts wherever they occur,

Fi 1 is an end View of a sofa-bed embodylng my invention,

Fig. 2 is an end view, showing the end section of the folding bed frame swung upward to permit bed clothing to be placed within or removed from the sofa-bed.

Fig. 3 is an end view showing the folding bed frame partly opened2 and Fig. 4 is an end view showlng the device converted into a bed.

The sofa-bed shown in the accompanying drawing is of the couch type and comprises a rigid sofa-frame A and a folding sectional bed frame B, both frames being preferably constructed of angle irons. The'.

sofa-frame A comprises four legs or corner posts 5 mounted on castors 6 and suitably connected by side rails 7 and end rails 8.

The folding bed frame B comprises three folding or hinged sections 10, 11 and 12. In the unfolded or opened position of the bed frame, as shown in Fig. 4, the folding sections 10, 11 and 12 thereof are disposed in substantially the same horizontal plane and cooperate to form the bed bottom. In the folded or closed position vof the bed frame, as shown in Fi 1, the outer or front section 10 forms t e seat portion of the sofa-bed, the inner or rear section 12 is folded beneath .said outer section and forms a supporting shelf for clothing` and pillows, andthe intermediate section 11 is disposed in a substantially upright position and serves as a back for the shelf and as a support for the .rear portion of the outer section 10.

A continuous mattress 13 is tied or otherwise secured to a continuous woven wire fabric, not shown, which may be secured in any desired manner to the three sections ment permits the bed frame to be folded with the mattress thereon, the portion of the matvof the folding -bed frame. This arrangetress carried by the outer section 10 serving as a cushion for Ithe sofa-seat in the folded or closed position of the sofa-bed.

' The outer section 10 is provided at its outer corners with. legs 14, whose lower ends are provided with castors 15 which contact with the floor in the folded and unfolded positions of the folding bed frame. Thev legs and the end rails of the front section 10 are suitably connected by. diagonalfstays 16; and said legs are also connected together by a longitudinal side rail 17. In the folded or closed position of the bed frame, as shown in Fig. 1, the outer section 10 is disposed horizontally within the sofaframe with its legs positioned between the legs of said sofa-frame and thus serves as a seat for the sofa-bed.

The outer ends of the end rails of the intermediate section 11 of the folding bed frame are pivotally connected, as at 18, to the rear end of the end rails of the' front section 10; and the inner ends 'of the end rails of said intermediate section 11 are pivotally connected. as at 19 to the front ends of the end rails of the inner section 12. The end rails of the inner section 12 are Aprovided with arms or extensions that project at right angles therefrom and are provided at their outer ends with pivot pins 20 which are slidably supported in horizontal slots 21 provlded therefor in the uppermost end rails of the sofa-frame. The end rails of the inner section of the folding bed frame are also provided with latch arms 22 having notches 23 therein, which, in the extended position of the folding bed frame, are adapted to engage pins 24 on the uppermost end rails of the sofa-frame and thereby prevent accidental rearward overturning movement of the end. section in the bed position of the folding frame. The latch arms 22 of the inner section 12 are provided With rounded or beveled outer ends 22a adapted to engage the pins 24 during the forward overturning movement of said inner section and thereby force said latch arms to ride over the pins which are then engaged by the notches 23 in the latch arms. In the closed position of the sofabed, the inner section of the folding bed frame is located beneath the outer section and is supported adjacent to its points of `uncturc with the intermediate section on orizontally disposed diagonal braces 5a that are secured to the lowermost side and end rails of the sofa and serve to strengthen the rear corners thereof.l

The outer and intermediate sections 10 and'11 of the folding bed frame have link connections 25 with the sofa-frame.. The upper ends of the links 25 are p'ivotally connected to the end rails of the outer and 1ntermediate sections by means of the pivots 18 that pivotally secure said sections together; and the lower ends of said links are pivotally secured to brackets 26 mounted on the lower end rails of the sofa-frame at points substantially midway of their length. The lower 'end portions of the links 25 are connected to the front and rear legs of the sofa-frame by meansof coil springs 27 and 28, respectively. The springs 27 and 28 are employed to counterbalance the weight of the hinged sections of the foldlng bed frame, to assist in the opening and closlng movements thereof, and to check or cushion such movement and thereby prevent jarring of the parts.

The outer sections of the folding bed frame is also connected to the sofa-frame by folding links 429 and 30. The lower links 29 are pivotally secured to the lower end rails of the sofa-frame adjacent to the front corners thereof, and the upper links 30 are ivotally secured tothe end rails of the ont section of the folding frame forward of the links 25. Links 31 have one end pivotally connected to the links l27 and 28 at their point of juncture; and the opposite ends of said links 31 are connected to the longitudinal side rails of the front section by means of coil springs 32. The lower end portions of the upper links 30 are extended beyond their point of connection with the lower links 29 and are provided with stop flanges 33 which abut against said lower links 29 in the raised position of the outer section of the bed frame and thus constitute stops for limiting the upward swinging movement of said front section relative to the intermediate section.

The device may be easily opened to bed o position, as shown in Fig. 4, by grasping the outer bed section 10 and drawing the same forward out of the sofa-frame. The outer and intermediate sections 10 and 11, being hinged on the supporting-links 25, are carri forward by said links; and the inner section-being pivotally secured to said intermediate section, is caused to overturn forwardly through about 180 degrees, and becomes coplanar with the intermediate and outer sections.

During the unfoldin movement of the bed frame, the pivota ly supported inner section 12, by reason of its slot and in connection with the to end rail oft e sofaframe, is drawn bodily forward a distance .sufficient to'permit the notches 23 in the latch arms 22 to straddle the pins 24, thereby preventing accidental overturning movement of said inner section. The inner section is unlocked by raising the outer section while exerting a rearward pressure thereon, whereby the movable pivot pins 24,

folding link connections 29 and 30 between the outer section 10 and the sofa-frame serve to limit the upward swingingmovement of said section. It is also noted that the spring connections 32 between said folding links and said outer section serve to counterbalance the weight of said section and yieldably retain the same in its raised posltion.

Obviously, the hereinbefore described device admits of considerable modification without departing from the invention. Therefore, I do not wish to be limited to the s ecific construction and arrangement s own.

What I claim 1s:

1. In a sofa-bed, a sofa-frame and a folding bed frame comprising outer and inner sections and an intermediate section pivotally connecting said outer and inner sections, link connections between said outer and intermediate sections and said sofa-frame, a connection between said inner section and said sofa-frame permitting both sliding and ivotal movement of said inner section durmg the folding and unfolding movements of said bed-frame, latch arms on said inner section adapted in the bed position of the bed frame to engage portions of said sofaframe and thereby prevent pivotal movement of said inner section, the sliding movement of said innersection permitting the latch arms thereof to be engaged with and disengaged from said sofa-frame during the unfoldin and folding movements, respectively, o said bed-frame.

2. In a sofa-bed, a sofa-frame and a folding bed frame comprising outer and inner sections and an intermediate section pivotally connectin said outer and intermediate sections, sain?` inner section being pivotally supported in said sofa-frame and said outer and intermediate sections having link connections with said sofa-frame at their points of juncture, whereby said sections are adapted to be folded with the inner section below the outer sectionA and are adapted to be unfolded to form the bed, said outer section being adapted to be swung upwardly independently of the intermedlate section in the folded posit-ion of the bed frame, and means for counterbalancing the weight of said outer section and for yieldably supporting said outer section in its raised position, said means comprising a pair of folding links connected with said outer section and said sofa-frame, and a coil spring connected with said links and said outer section.

3. In a sofa-bed, a sofa-frame and a folding bed frame comprising outer and inner sections and an intermediate section pivotal,- 1y connectin said outer and intermediate sections, sai inner section being pivotally supported in said sofa-frame and said outer and intermediate sections having link connections with said sofa-frame at their points of juncture, whereby said sections are adapted to be folded with the inner section below the outer section and are adapted to be unfolded to form the bed, said outer section being adapted to be swung upwardly independently ofthe intermediate section in the folded position of the bed frame, and means for counterbalancing the weight of said outer section and for yleldably supporting said outer section in its raised position, said means comprising a pair of folding links connected.with said outer section and said sofa-frame, and a coil spring connected with said links and said outer section, one link of said .pair being provided with a sto flange adapted to abut against the other lin of said pair at a predetermined oint of their foldingV movement and there y limit the upward swinging movement of said outer section.

Signed at St. Louis, Missouri, this 15th day of April, 1924.

RUDOLPH COOPERSMITH. 

